Gender and Sexuality in Pride and Prejudice

Gender plays an important role in Jane Austen’s novel. In Regency England, women had few rights when it came to owning land. This is portrayed in the novel as well as in the three historical adaptations as the Bennet sisters not being able to inherit their father’s estate because the house has been entailed to be passed down to a male family member. The only hope for the Bennet sisters is to marry and be provided for by a man, which is an endeavour pursued tirelessly by Mrs. Bennet. 

In the modern adaptations though, there is less focus on the sisters’ gender as a reason for their financial problems, though it is still their mother’s goal to have them married off to wealthy, respectable men. In Bride & Prejudice, Lalita's mother wants her daughters to marry rich men, while Lalita talks about getting her own job and marrying for love. Lalita's mother instead believes that securing a marriage is most important and love will come afterwards. Her ideals are portrayed as outdated in the modern day where woman have more freedom and opportunities than in the Regency Era. In the case of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Lizzie Bennet's mom works equally hard at getting her daughters married and at trying to get them jobs. In this version, Mr. Collins is a childhood friend who is running a media company and he offers Lizzie a job. Lizzie refuses because she wants to finish her masters and her mother becomes absolutely furious. Though Lizzie's mother is represented as old-fashioned, she is also portrayed as a mother who cares for her daughters greatly and wants them to succeed in life. She is an updated version of Regency Era Mrs. Bennet, though she is still a little behind the times in 2012.   

While clothing is not mentioned often in the story, it is quite clear from the time period in which the book was written that men and women wore Regency Era fashions. In Pride and Prejudice (1940) though, the women wear victorian fashion, including puffy sleeves and hoop skirts. This historical inaccuracy was a conscious decision because of the popularity of Gone With the Wind (1939). The style of dress was thought to cut a better silhouette than an empire waist gown, and was the ideal of feminine beauty at the time. The other two historical adaptations keep the empire waist gowns, choosing to be historically accurate. Clothes don’t play a big role in the modern adaptations.

Pride and Prejudice (1940) 

One particular scene from the novel has made it almost verbatim into each and every one of the adaptations. In this specific scene, Mr. Bingley voices his astonishment on how many women are so talented and accomplished and, in response, Mr. Darcy and Caroline Bingley list out everything a woman must achieve in order for her to be considered an accomplished woman. The lists for the historical and modern adaptations are practically identical. In both, women are supposed to be well-read, intelligent, speak more than one language, and have a special talent. Some of the more intangible traits, such as how a woman walks and how she projects herself, are translated into beauty and confidence in the modern adaptations. Elizabeth scoffs at this list in every one of the adaptations because she doesn’t believe that many, if any, women could live up to all these expectations. Something inherent in how society views women has not changed in two hundred years. Women are still expected to possess an incredible number of talents while men aren’t expected to have half of the same expectations. This is exhibited through Mr. Bingley’s commentary on how impressive it is that a woman can possess to many talents.  

The smallest indiscretion acted upon by a women in the Regency Era could lead to her and her family’s ruin. This is especially true with Lydia Bennet’s case when she runs off with Mr. Wickham and almost ruins he sisters’ chances of marrying respectable gentlemen. Mr. Collins says that it would be better if Lydia had died than run away with Mr. Wickham because of the shame she has brought onto her family. In the story and subsequent historical adaptations, Lydia’s only option for salvation is to marry Mr. Wickham. This is completely changed in the modern adaptations. In Bride & Prejudice, Lakhi runs away with Johnny Wickham, only to be caught by Lalita and Will Darcy. Upon realising that Wickham is just using her, she punches him and heads home with Lalita. In The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Lizzie finds out that Wickham plans on releasing a sex tape of him and Lydia on the internet, and when she confronts Lydia about the tape, Lydia has no idea what she is talking about. Lydia is heartbroken over Wickham’s betrayal and eventually comes to terms with the fact that he never loved her. In the modern adaptations, Lakhi and Lydia aren’t bound by society to get married to Wickham because the blame is no longer just placed on women. Neither girl is blamed for Wickham's deceptive and destructive behaviour.  

Jane Austen’s setting for the novel gives an impression of an era of correctness and refinement that leads to a certain amount of sexual repression. Women are expected to be passive and not to show too much interest so as not to be thought of negatively. Lydia and Kitty are perfect examples of this repression. They flirt openly with members of the militia and their behaviour is consequently viewed as inappropriate. Another example is the lack of any writing about the attraction that might have accompanied the love that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy felt for each other. The adaptations take more  liberties with this aspect. In the 1940s movie, there are many scenes in which Mr. Darcy gravitates towards Elizabeth and gets intimately close to her, which is something that would not have been deemed appropriate in early nineteenth century England. In the movie, when Elizabeth accepts Mr. Darcy’s proposal, he kisses her in true old Hollywood fashion, which would also have been very inappropriate to do at the time. In the other two historical adaptations, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth do not kiss until after they have been married. This is more accurate to the time period. In the 1995 television series, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy do not show their attraction through any form of physical contact, but rather through their expressions. The only time the two come into physical contact with each other before they are married is when they are dancing. The 2005 historical adaptation portrays their attraction in a more modern way through sexual tension. Certain scenes, such as Mr. Darcy helping Elizabeth into her carriage and the two coming dangerously close to kissing after Elizabeth rejects his first marriage proposal, are rife with a sexual tension that is not found in the other two historical adaptations. 

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Bride & Prejudice is also an interesting example of sexuality. Lalita and Will Darcy do on many occasions come into physical contact with each other-even embracing-but they never actually kiss. It is actually quite uncommon for there to be kissing scenes in Bollywood films. Though there are Bollywood films with kissing scenes, kissing is not as ubiquitous as it is in Hollywood films. This manifests itself in the rather modern adaptation as still having some of the same social expectations as of the Regency Era. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries takes a completely modern approach to sexuality. Sexuality, though, can be hard to express in a video blog format due to the content’s creator having full control of what is disclosed to the audience. Lydia is portrayed as very sexually active and Lizzie takes to calling her actions ‘slutty,’ which creates a lot of friction between the two sisters. Their argument hits its climax when Lizzie thinks that Lydia is going along with George Wickham in posting their sex tape online, though it soon becomes obvious that Lydia had no idea of his intentions. While Lizzie and Jane are more subdued in their sexuality, they both share kisses on screen with their respective love interests and while marriage is discussed by the mother, the daughters aren’t quite there yet. It is implied through the show that they will go on to have healthy, modern relationships before even considering getting married.